What do you think?
Rate this book
War Games
Book by Deary, Terry
- GenresFiction
72 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2004
21 people want to read
About the author
Terry Deary
773 books845 followersA former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.
A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.
The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.
Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).
He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.
-Wikipedia
A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.
The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.
Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).
He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.
-Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 12, 2018
One of the great things about this series of books about life in world war 2 is the way it deals with ordinary people, and fairly ordinary events. Not heroes saving the world, but people living through life, and achieving little achievements and learning about life. These are sporting related stories in this group of stories from Deary and are pretty good.
July 27, 2021
There’s enough depth and humour in these stories, though basic, to give them some poignancy. They are tactfully done for the most part, though I found the class struggle in the first story to be slightly crude and some of the the illustrations a bit creepy.
3.5
3.5
March 10, 2015
This dyslexic-friendly book tells the story of children playing games during World War Two. The English children play cricket and the German football.
The deeper story looks at the social stratification and mores that encourage children to vent their cruelty on each other - class-based for the English children and anti-Jewish for the German. It also shows the possibility of redemption and how the bullies can come to see the error of their ways. The characters are deftly realised though it was a shame that the victims overcame their situation by being passive and literally turning the other cheek.
It's a simple, straightforward tale that would suit readers of 8+ and, whilst it doesn't dwell on the real horrors of war such as the concentration camps, it does hint at something darker impacting on the lives of the children, something more than just playing in bombed-out buildings.
This book would be a useful introduction to deeper discussion on what war is like for the people left at home.
The deeper story looks at the social stratification and mores that encourage children to vent their cruelty on each other - class-based for the English children and anti-Jewish for the German. It also shows the possibility of redemption and how the bullies can come to see the error of their ways. The characters are deftly realised though it was a shame that the victims overcame their situation by being passive and literally turning the other cheek.
It's a simple, straightforward tale that would suit readers of 8+ and, whilst it doesn't dwell on the real horrors of war such as the concentration camps, it does hint at something darker impacting on the lives of the children, something more than just playing in bombed-out buildings.
This book would be a useful introduction to deeper discussion on what war is like for the people left at home.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews